Today in 1938, Pygmalion opened at the Maxine Elliott's Theatre. Written by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw, the play centers on Professor of phonetics Henry Higgins. He makes a bet that he can train a bedraggled Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, to pass for a duchess at an ambassador's garden party by teaching her to assume a veneer of gentility, the most important element of which, he believes, is impeccable speech. The play is a sharp lampoon of the rigid British class system of the day and a comment on women's independence, packaged as a romantic comedy.

Today in 2010, A View From the Bridge opened at the Cort Theatre, where it ran for 81 performances. Written by American playwright Arthur Miller, the show was first staged on September 29, 1955 as a one-act verse drama with A Memory of Two Mondays at the Coronet Theatre on Broadway. The play is set in 1950s America, in an Italian American neighborhood near the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. It employs both a chorus and a narrator (Alfieri). Eddie, the tragic protagonist, has an improper love of, and almost obsession with, Catherine. The 2010 revival starred Liev Schreiber, Scarlett Johansson and Jessica Hecht.

Today in 2005, Little Women opened at the Virginia Theatre (now the August Wilson Theatre), where it ran for 137 performances. Based on Louisa May Alcott's classic 1869 semi-autobiographical novel, it focuses on the four March sisters - brassy, tomboy-like, aspiring writer Jo, romantic Meg, pretentious Amy, and kind-hearted Beth - and their beloved Marmee, at home in Concord, Massachusetts while the family patriarch is away serving as a Union Army chaplain during the Civil War. Intercut with the vignettes in which their lives unfold are several recreations of the melodramatic short stories Jo writes in her attic studio. The Broadway cast included Sutton Foster, Maureen McGovern, Janet Carroll, Jenny Powers, Megan McGinnis, and Amy McAlexander.

Today in 1942, the first revival of Porgy and Bess opened at the Majestic Theatre, where it ran for 286 performances. First performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward, it was based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and subsequent play of the same title, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward. All three works deal with African-American life in the fictitious Catfish Row in Charleston, South Carolina, in the early 1920s. Originally conceived by George Gershwin as an 'American folk opera', Porgy and Bess premiered in New York in the fall of 1935 and featured an entire cast of classically trained African-American singers-a daring artistic choice at the time.

Today in 1957 Waiting for Godot opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, where it ran for 6 performances. An absurdist play by Samuel Beckett, it revolves around two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, who wait endlessly and in vain for someone named Godot to arrive. Godot's absence, as well as numerous other aspects of the play, have led to many different interpretations since the play's premiere. Since its US premiere in 1956, several notable revivals have been produced, including the 1988 production featuring Robin Williams and Steve Martin, and the 2009 revival starring Nathan Lane and Bill Irwin.

Today in 1903, The Wizard of Oz opened at the Majestic Theatre, where it ran for 293 performances. Based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, which was originally published in 1900, much of the original music was by Paul Tietjens and has been mostly forgotten, although it was still well-remembered and in discussion at MGM in the late 1930s, when the classic film version of the story was made. The main plot of the show, as recounted in newspapers of the time, is Pastoria's attempts to regain the throne from the Wizard of Oz. The original protagonists' search for the Wizard puts them on the wrong side of the law. Since then, many new incarnations have been created, including the 1939 film, and the 2011 West End musical.

Happy Birthday Michael Crawford! In 1981, Crawford starred in the Original London production of Cy Coleman's Barnum (1981) as the illustrious American showman P. T. Barnum. He is best known for starring opposite Sarah Brightman in the original cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera as the title character. In 1986, Crawford began his performance in London, continuing on to Broadway in 1988, and then Los Angeles a year later, in 1989. He played the role for 2½ years and over 1,300 performances, winning an Olivier Award (Best Actor in a Musical) and a Tony Award (Best Performance By An Actor in a Lead Role, Musical). Beginning in February 2011, Crawford has played the role of the Wizard in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's musical version of The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium.

Today in 1998, Ragtime opened at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts (now the Foxwoods Theatre), where it ran for 834 performances. The musical garnered four Tony Awards including Best Book, Original Score and Best Orchestrations. The beloved Ahrens and Flaherty score features some of the award-winning team's best-known songs including the title song, 'Make Them Hear You' and the anthem 'The Wheels of a Dream.' A revival opened at the Neil Simon Theatre in 2009.

Today in 1925, the late Broadway legend Gwen Verdon was born. Verdon was an actress and dancer who won four Tony awards for her musical comedy performances. With flaming red hair and an endearing quaver in her voice, Verdon was a critically acclaimed dancer on Broadway in the 1950s and 1960s. She is also strongly identified with her second husband, director-choreographer Bob Fosse, remembered as the dancer-collaborator-muse for whom he choreographed much of his work and as the guardian of his legacy after his death. Verdon is most remembered for starring in Sweet Charity, Chicago, and Damn Yankees.

Today in 1939, The Importance of Being Earnest opened at the Vanderbilt Theatre, where it ran for 61 performances. Written by Oscar Wilde, the show was first performed on 14 February 1895 at St. James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae in order to escape burdensome social obligations. Working within the social conventions of late Victorian London, the play's major themes are the triviality with which it treats institutions as serious as marriage, and the resulting satire of Victorian ways. Its high farce and witty dialogue have helped make The Importance of Being Earnest Wilde's most enduringly popular play.

Today in 1976, Pacific Overtures opened at the Winter Garden Theatre, where it ran for 193 performances. With music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, a libretto by John Weidman, and additional material by Hugh Wheeler, the musical is set in 1853 Japan and follows the difficult Westernization of Japan, through the lives of two friends caught in the change. The original Broadway production of Pacific Overtures in 1976 was presented in Kabuki style, with men playing women's parts and set changes made in full view of the audience by people dressed in black. A Broadway revival ran at Studio 54 from December 2, 2004 to January 30, 2005, directed by Amon Miyamoto and starring B.D. Wong as the Narrator and several members of the original cast.

Today in 2008, The Little Mermaid opened at the Lunt Fontanne Theatre, where it ran for 685 performances. The Little Mermaid is based on the animated 1989 Disney film of the same name and the classic story of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen. The musical's book is by Doug Wright, music by Alan Menken and lyrics by the late Howard Ashman (written for the film) and new lyrics by Glenn Slater. The musical had a pre-Broadway tryout in Denver, Colorado in July through early September 2007. The original cast featured Sierra Boggess in the title role of Ariel, Sean Palmer as Prince Eric, Brian D'Addario and Trevor Braun alternate as Flounder, Norm Lewis as King Triton, Sherie Rene Scott as Ursula, Tituss Burgess as Sebastian, Tyler Maynard as Flotsam, Derrick Baskin as Jetsam, Jonathan Freeman as Grimsby, and John Treacy Egan as Chef Louis.

Today in 2011, In the Heights closed at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, where it ran for 1184 performances. In the Heights is a musical with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegria Hudes. The story explores three days in the characters' lives in the New York City Dominican-American neighborhood of Washington Heights. The Broadway production was nominated for thirteen Tony Awards, winning four: Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Choreography (Andy Blankenbuehler), and Best Orchestrations (Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman). It was also a finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Today in 1981, Joe Papp's revival of THe Pirates of Penzance opened at the Uris Theatre, where it ran for 787 performances. The Pirates of Penzance is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences and critics. Pirates was the fifth Gilbert and Sullivan collaboration and introduced the much-parodied Major-General's Song.

Today in 1985, the second Broadway revival of THe King and I opened at the Broadway THeatre, where it ran for 191 performances. The King and I is the fifth musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The work is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and derives from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the early 1860s. The story deals with the experiences of the British schoolteacher, who is hired as part of the King's drive to modernize his country. The relationship between the King and Anna is marked by conflict through much of the play, as well as by a love that neither is able to express. The musical premiered on March 29, 1951 at Broadway's St. James Theatre.

Today in 1963, Oliver! opened at Broadway's Imperial Theatre, where it ran for 774 performances. Oliver! is a British musical, with script, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. It premiered in the West End in 1960, enjoying a long run, a successful Broadway production in 1963 and further tours and revivals. It was made into a musical film in 1968. Major London revivals played from 1994-1998 and again from 2008-2011.

Today in 1946, the second Broadway revival of Showboat opened at the Ziegfeld Theatre, and ran for 418 performances. Show Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was originally produced in New York in 1927 and in London in 1928, and was based on the 1926 novel of the same name by Edna Ferber. The plot chronicles the lives of those living and working on the Cotton Blossom, a Mississippi River show boat, from 1880 to 1927. The show's dominant themes include racial prejudice and tragic, enduring love.

Today in 2009, Hairspraiy closed at the Neil Simon Theatre after 2,641 performances. Hairspray is a musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and 'downtown' rhythm and blues. In 1962 Baltimore, Maryland, plump teenager Tracy Turnblad's dream is to dance on The Corny Collins Show, a local TV dance program based on the real-life Buddy Deane Show.

Today in 1938, The Cradle Will Rock opened at the Windsor Theatre. Originally a part of the Federal Theatre Project, it was directed by Orson Welles, and produced by John Houseman. The show was recorded and released on seven 78-rpm discs in 1938, making it the first cast album recording. Following the impromptu opening and a brief run at the Venice Theatre (later renamed the New Century Theatre) in July 1937, the production reopened on January 3, 1938, at the Windsor Theatre under the auspices of the new Mercury Theatre Company. It played a total of 108 performances.

Happy Birthday, Renee Elise Goldsberry! Goldsberry played Nala in the Broadway production of The Lion King and was nominated for a Drama League Award for 'Distinguished Performance' and won a New York magazine Best of 2005 Award for her performance as Silvia in the 2005 New York City Shakespeare in the Park revival of Two Gentlemen of Verona. She later originated the role of Nettie in The Color Purple, the Broadway musical adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1982 novel of the same name from November 2005 to mid-January 2006. On June 16, 2008, Goldsberry was the last actress to play the role of Mimi Marquez in the Broadway musical Rent.

Happy Birthday, Frank Langella! Langella won his first Tony Award for his performance in Edward Albee's Seascape and 1975 and was nominated for another for what may have been the performance for which he was best known for in the early part of his career: the title role of the 1977 Broadway production of Dracula. He then appeared on Broadway in such plays as Sherlock's Last Case, Strindberg's The Father (winning a Drama Desk Award), Match (Tony Award nomination), and Fortune's Fool, for which he won a second Tony Award. He was cast as Richard Nixon in Peter Morgan's Frost/Nixon, which received enthusiastic reviews during a run at the Donmar Warehouse and Gielgud Theatre in London before moving to New York's Bernard B. Jacobs Theater in April 2007, culminating in Langella's third Tony Award. He reprised the role of Nixon in the 2008 film Frost/Nixon, directed by Ron Howard.

Happy Birthday, Bebe Neuwirth! Neuwirth made her Broadway debut in the role of Sheila in A Chorus Line in 1980. She later appeared in revivals of Little Me (1982) Sweet Charity (1986), for which she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, and Damn Yankees (1994). 1996 saw her play the role of Velma Kelly in the Broadway revival of Chicago. That role brought her her greatest stage recognition to date, and several awards including the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical. Neuwirth would later return to the still-running revival of Chicago in 2006, this time in the role of Roxie Hart.She will next return to the musical as 'Mama Morton' in January 2014.

Today in 1948, opened at the Shubert Theatre. Kiss Me, Kate is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It is structured as a play within a play, where the interior play is a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. The original production starred Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang. Kiss Me, Kate was a response to Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! and other integrated musicals, and it proved to be his biggest hit and the only one of his shows to run for more than 1,000 performances on Broadway. It won the first Tony Award presented for Best Musical, in 1949.

Today in 1976, the first Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof opened at the Winter Garden Theatre. Featuring music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, the story centers on Tevye, the father of five daughters, and his attempts to maintain his family and Jewish religious traditions while outside influences encroach upon their lives. The original Broadway production of the show, which opened in 1964, had the first musical theatre run in history to surpass 3,000 performances. It spawned four Broadway revivals, a successful 1971 film adaptation, and the show has enjoyed enduring international popularity. It is also a very popular choice for school and community productions. In celebration of this day, we bring you Zero Mostel's performance of 'If I Were a Rich Man.' Click below to check it out!

Happy Birthday, Jude Law! In 1995, Law starred in The National Theatre transfer of Broadway's Indiscretions at the Barrymore Theater. In May 2009, Law returned to the London stage to portray the title role in Shakespeare's Hamlet at the Donmar Warehouse West End season at Wyndham's Theatre. In September 2009 the production transferred to the Broadhurst Theatre in New York.